Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Municipal Affairs Bureau and Galaxy Entertainment Group jointly organize the “Behind the Scenes of Star Cuisine” Workshop Series to help industry professionals expand their professional knowledge of food safety, catering management and other related topics. The Series aims to foster the high-quality and sustainable development of the catering industry and deepen Macao’s development as a Creative City of Gastronomy.
Professional enhancement contributes to high-quality sustainable development
The “Behind the Scenes of Star Cuisine” Workshop Series (the “Series”) comprises three workshops. The launch ceremony and first workshop of the Series were held at Galaxy International Convention Center today (21 March).
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes remarked on the occasion that as visitor arrivals are on track for significant recovery, the related sectors meet new challenges as well. Catering businesses have to ensure great quality of their food and services as they serve a growing number of customers. The “Behind the Scenes of Star Cuisine” Workshop Series covers food safety, operations of central kitchens, procurement and delivery of food ingredients, among other topics. Through themed sharing, seminars and familiarization visits, catering employees have a chance to learn more about the standards and practices of food safety, which promotes enhancement of service quality in the sector and brands Macao as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
First workshop revolves around food safety
The first workshop of the Series is a themed sharing workshop, which consists of two sessions. In the first session, themed sharing was presented by representative of the Department of Food Safety of Municipal Affairs Bureau, Lei Sok In, who introduced an overview of food safety regulation in Macao, including a current picture of the catering industry, discoveries during regular hygiene inspections and the support and pertinent facilities of the trade. Interested businesses were encouraged to participate and try the “Safe Food” Hygiene Self-Inspection Incentive Scheme. Following that, an exchange session took place, featuring President of Macao Food Safety Management Association, Philip Choi, Lecturer of Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, Vinita Chan, and Executive Manager of Quality Assurance, Food and Beverage of Galaxy Entertainment Group, Julie Wong, who shared their practices and valuable experience in the field of food safety regulation.
Next two workshops to take place in second and third quarters
The second workshop of the Series will elaborate procedures as follows: mass production of food ingredients at central kitchens, processing and packaging of original ingredients. The third workshop of the Series will cover procurement of food ingredients and selection of suppliers, process of delivery and logistics. The two workshops will be held in the second and third quarters respectively.
The “Behind the Scenes of Star Cuisine” Workshop Series is jointly organized by MGTO, Municipal Affairs Bureau and Galaxy Entertainment Group. The supporting entities include Consumer Council, Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, Macau Hotel Association, United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao, Association of Macau Small and Medium Enterprises of Catering, Association of Macao Tourist Agents, Macau Travel Agency Association and Travel Industry Council of Macau.
The launch ceremony and first session of the “Behind the Scenes of Star Cuisine” Workshop Series were attended today by over 400 guests and participants including MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Head of the Department of Food Safety of Municipal Affairs Bureau, Cheong Kuai Tat, Human Resources and Administration Director of Galaxy Entertainment Group, Eileen Lui, Vice President of Consumer Council, Ao Weng Tong, President of the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao, Chan Chak Mo, President of Macau Travel Agency Association, Alex Lao, Chairman of Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu, Vice president of the Association of Macao Tourist Agents, Yan Wei Dong, President of the Board of Directors of Association of Macau Small and Medium Enterprises of Catering, Vincent Ieong, President of Macau Hotel Association, Luís Heredia, and Assistant Professor at School of Hospitality Management of Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, Serene Yan See Wan, together with business representatives and employees in the tourism and related industries, as well as students from academic institutions.
Following the designation of Macao as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017, the society has placed more attention and regard on catering industry development and cultivation of catering professionals in Macao. In 2019, MGTO and Galaxy Entertainment Group jointly held the Celebrity Chef Workshop. In 2021, MGTO and Municipal Affairs Bureau jointly organized the “Seminar on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene” – special session for merchants accredited by the Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme. The Office also keeps encouraging employees in the tourism and related sectors to join different training programs. In the days ahead, MGTO will continue to organize more industry training programs in online and offline formats to support employees in the tourism and related industries to upgrade their service quality, to support and progress with the work entailed in the Development Plan for Adequate Economic Diversification of the Macao SAR (2024-2028).
